


Two Girls and a Flower Shop

by novahainn



Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, freyahiru, freyahiruweek, i already posted this to fanfiction.net so there will be no authors notes, platonic fakiru y'all, romance and friendship themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-05 22:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16376153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novahainn/pseuds/novahainn
Summary: Really, it's only a summer job.





	1. Committed

Ahiru gulps at the large sign plastered on the shop window.

_NOW HIRING!_

_Assistant position available for the summer_

_Please enquire at the till_

_xx_

She peeks around it, spying the shop owner arranging orchids in a vase. As if feeling the stare, she glances over her shoulder. Ahiru yelps and dives behind the assortment of large flowerpots displayed outside the window under the sign. She twists around, watching with faint embarrassment as Fakir waves in her place.

"You know you could just go in and talk to her," he says, looking down at her once Freya turns away (or so she assumes), "and ask for the job if you want it."

"Are you stupid?!" she shrieks, before promptly slapping her hands over her mouth and shrugging sheepishly at passersby who had turned to see where the fuss is coming from. She gestures to move away from the shop window; he does so with an exasperated roll of the eyes. "I can't do that."

"Why not? You've liked her for absolutely  _ages_ -"

She flushes, stuttering, "I-I don't-"

"Don't bother, it's obvious." He cuts her off with a look.

Her mouth snaps shut and she twiddles her fingers, before slowly asking "Is it really that obvious?" in a small voice.

Fakir gives her a secret smile. "No, not really. A bit. I can tell because I know you."

Her stomach unclenches once more. "Good, that would have been embarrassing…"

"So are you going to ask her?"

"Wha- No!"

"I bet Mytho and Rue would agree with me."

"No- Fakir, don't you dare-"

* * *

"Did you just see Freya or what?" Rue simpers, taking an exaggerated sip through her straw.

Ahiru slams her hands on the table, waving off onlookers again, her face a deep red. "I don't- Fakir, you said-!"

"I didn't say anything," he interjects, sipping just as exaggeratedly, ice clinking against the glass. Both give her knowing looks. "They know you as well as I do."

Ahiru turns to Mytho. He smiles sheepishly and shrugs. "It  _was_  a little obvious…"

She huffs, poking the milkshake with her straw and sinking into her chair. "Really…"

Rue pats her knee. "Now, don't get upset. We don't mean to be… well, mean.  _Right?_ " She throws a sharp look towards the two boys. They straighten in their seats, nodding with mutterings of "yes" and "not at all" and an indignant huff from Fakir. Rue's glare lingers on Fakir for a second longer before she turns back to Ahiru. "It's cute. I get it; Freya's nice, and very pretty." She takes her hand off Ahiru's knee to reach for her straw again. "And such wonderful long hair…"

"It's not just that," Ahiru mutters weakly, biting her lip. "You're nice and pretty too. Mytho is nice and pretty- well, handsome." She grins at him; he winks. "Fakir…" She taps her chin in mock-thought. Mytho snorts. Fakir glares at her a little; she sticks her tongue out. "That's what you get for  _teasing_."

"Consider me warned, then," he says sarcastically, sticking his tongue out as soon as Rue glances away.

Ahiru grins at him, rubbing her hand across and up her forehead and pushing her hair out of her face. "Anyway, it's not just that. Don't ask me what it is, though!"

"Fine, fine. But I do think you should go for that job."

"HOW DI-"

"We saw the sign on the way here," Mytho clarifies, tapping the glass table. "You'd get some money, and you'd get to  _talk_  to her. And it'd give you something to do."

Ahiru wriggles in her seat, eyes decidedly focused on swirling the milkshake around and around in its tall glass. "I don't know…"

Rue drums her fingers on the table once, then taps it repeatedly with her index finger. She stares at Ahiru for a few seconds, her chin in her other hand, as if analysing her. Ahiru raises her eyebrows in question. Rue finally sighs. "Don't do it if you don't want to, but I do think it would be good. I'm not telling you to ask her out, just get the job. You could be friends, at least." She lets her arms drop across the table and grabs the straw again between two fingers, giving Ahiru a sidelong look, one delicate eyebrow raised. "We'd come round to see you while you're there, too. And you can call me at anytime if you feel awkward and whatnot. What do you say?"

Ahiru looks between her, Mytho, and Fakir. Mytho gives her a thumbs-up. Fakir quirks his head to one side, eyebrow raised just like Rue. Ahiru's nose wrinkles slightly in chagrin. "Honestly, how are you two  _not_ siblings? You always make the exact same faces."

The two look at each other then turn away with identical expressions of mild disgust. Mytho laughs. Ahiru takes advantage of the moment to readjust her headband and peek into her bag. Her favourite flower earrings lie in the small pocket on the side.  _Just in case_.

* * *

For the second time that day, she finds herself staring at the sign on the flower shop window, this time accompanied by three friends instead of one.

A hand slaps her back, almost slamming her into the window if it hadn't been for Fakir's quick tug on the back of her dress. She hardly steadies herself again before she is caught in a chokehold. "Ahiru! Why, fancy seeing  _you_ here! We weren't waiting for you to come look at the job poster at  _all_ , were we Pike?"

Ahiru manages to twist around enough to see Pike give her a pitying look, shaking her head at Lilie's antics. "I certainly wasn't. Lilie, you're strangling her."

"Oh!" The blonde girl releases her, letting her drop to the ground. "Me? Not at all! Just a friendly hug.  _So_ , are you going to ask for the job?"

Rue pulls Ahiru to her feet as she rubs her neck. "Well…"

"Oh, you  _were_! Chasing after your love, how marvelous! And how marvelously you will fail! Summer romance!"

"She's not going to fail at anything," Fakir mutters, rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm and sighing through his teeth.

"Enough, Lilie," Rue snaps, throwing her a sharp scowl. Lilie giggles, covering her mouth with one hand and gesturing animatedly with the other. "You don't have to, Ahiru."

Ahiru nods slowly, pushing back her headband before it falls over her eyes and clearing her throat. "Yeah… I don't think I will."  _I've lost my nerve._

Mytho pats her shoulder, steering her away from the shop window. "Alright, then-"

"Oh no you don't!" With a gleeful shriek, Lilie grabs her arms and pulls her back in front of the door, then slaps her back again. Ahiru barrels through (silently thanking God that it's a push door), rolling into the shop before sliding to a stop on her stomach.

She rubs her head, "Ow…" Her vision spins when she lifts it, distorting everything she sees. She squints. A half-formed thought ambles through her mind:  _Lilie just pushed me into the flower shop._  She freezes, her eyes focuses, staring at the pair of shoes directly in front of her.  _LILIE JUST PUSHED ME INTO THE FLOWER SHOP!_ She throws her head back to see Freya towering over her, plant in hand, watching her with a raised eyebrow and a faintly perplexed look. Her face heats up until she is sure she has never been so red in her entire life, and she silently curses her luck and Lilie, before jumping to her feet. Her head slams right into the potted plant in Freya's hands.

" _Hh-!_ " A strangled gasp escapes as she manages to catch the plant before it falls to the ground. She latches onto it as if for dear life, her hands trembling, her breaths shaky, before she looks into Freya's green eyes once more and gulps. "I- I don't- I'm sorry-!" She takes a moment to glance over her shoulder, towards the small crowd of friends outside the window. Mytho and Pike's faces are plastered to the glass, staring in shock. Behind them, Rue has Lilie's arm gripped firmly in her hand as she scolds her, expression stormy; Lilie ignores her completely, staring at Ahiru with a look of absolute euphoria. Fakir stands next to Rue. He waves at them slowly when Ahiru turns.

Ahiru whirls back around to see Freya wave back. "That's the second time I see him today." She smiles at the onlookers before letting her gaze fall to Ahiru once more. "Are you alright?"

Ahiru straightens, stammering, "Y-Yes, I-I didn't m-m-mean to… Well, that is, I wanted to…" She lets the sentence hang, her mind wandering back to the shop window sign. Again, she curses Lilie and her terrible, wonderful timing.

"Yes?" Freya asks, taking back the potted plant and stroking one of the leaves. She fixes Ahiru with a soft look. Ahiru's stomach somersaults.

She clears her throat, racking up the scraps of her courage before yelling loudly with her arms straight at her sides, "I wanted to ask about the assistant job!" Her face flushes again; she fiddles with her fingers, continuing more quietly. "That is… I was wondering if I could… apply?"

"Ah! Yes," Freya nods, turning and walking around the till, "let me just get you an application…" She deposits the plant on the counter and ducks down. Ahiru plods slowly towards it, hands clasped, taking the moment to look back over her shoulder. Her friends all watch with rapt attention. Mytho gives another thumbs-up; Rue nods at her encouragingly. She nods back, trying to keep her grin at bay. "So, here you go," Freya says, sliding the piece of paper across the counter at her. Ahiru yelps and leans forwards again. "Just fill it all in. It's a first come, first serve, and you'll have a week's trial period before I give you the job. You're the first applicant, so you won't have to wait. Today's Saturday, and I close on Sundays, so Monday?" Freya watches her expectantly, a large smile on her face.

Ahiru blinks a moment at her perfect teeth before jumping to attention. "Yes! That's fine. What time?"

"Half past eight, I open at nine but we have to set up and I'll show you around too. So…" She drums her fingers on the counter before reaching out with her right hand. "See you then?"

Ahiru grabs it, shaking vigorously then quickly letting go, reddening again. "Yes, thank you!"

Freya giggles. "A strong handshake. I like it."

Ahiru's heart swells. She folds the application and tucks it into her bag carefully, shouting an odd "Bye!" over her shoulder as she all but sprints out of the shop, flower earrings swinging.


	2. Family

The first week goes by without a hitch, as does the second. Ahiru passes the trial period easily — or, well, as easily as a nervous, shy, clumsy girl with an enormous crush on her boss can — and working for Freya becomes routine.

As do the visits.

The first few days, Lilie comes along with Pike to gloat, and to openly speculate how long it will take Ahiru to "fail magnificently and come running to me in tears!", earning shakes of the head and frowns from Pike and odd looks from Freya. Pike browses among the varieties of plants, flowers, and seeds. On one occasion, she decides to buy a succulent, which she would have done if Lilie hadn't said that "ah, yes, the plant of those who are doomed to be single". Despite her disagreement with Lilie's claims, she is put off. Freya and Ahiru share a look — Freya raises an eyebrow in question, Ahiru shrugs, Freya turns away again, and Ahiru silently shrieks into a bag of soil.

Mytho and Rue's visits last a little longer than Lilie's. They pop in almost every day for the first week and a half or so, and after that only wave through the window or peek in to say hello if they happen to be walking by. Their visits are more pleasant than Lilie's, and Ahiru always wonders how they manage to turn up at the best possible times — that is, when Ahiru is sure that she could be mistaken for a tomato's identical twin. Their visits are pleasant, and she's glad she gets to see them so often in spite of her job, despite Rue's tendency to watch Freya with a small smile playing on her features and then looking at Ahiru with knowing eyes, and Mytho's apparently permanent state of thumbs-up.  _Really, I appreciate the support but that's a little strange._  Other friends visit the flower shop too, sometimes to look around and buy something and sometimes simply to see her. At one point, Autor walks in looking ruffled and demands of Ahiru to tell him which flowers are the best for a birthday. Luckily, Freya overhears and prepares him a huge bouquet of exquisite flowers of apparently every kind, with a tag listing the symbolic meanings of each tied to the thick string binding them together. Later, they discover from Fakir that Erina's birthday gift hadn't arrived in time and that Autor had flown into a frenzy, which Fakir had gotten caught up in before shooing him away to buy her flowers.

Fakir visits regularly, sometimes sitting in the corner on a stool while the girls work, sometimes listening to them chat about this and that, and sometimes simply stopping to say hi or drop them off some lunch, which Freya thanks him for profusely. He simply shrugs in his usual manner, but nods at Ahiru's mouthed "thank you!" when Freya isn't looking.

* * *

The ring of the small bell startles Ahiru out of her reverie, and she almost hits her head on the shelf she is crouched under in her haste to jump up and attend the potential customer. She instead falls back to avoid it. "I'm coming!"

"It's just me," Fakir's voice calls over the rows of flora.

"Oh, okay, I'll be out in a second," she replies, ducking down again to finish sweeping up the spilt seeds before depositing them in the jar again.

She hops up, waving at him just as Freya comes down the stairs. She watches her pull her long, blonde hair into a low bun and tug her apron over her head again, a slightly dazed look on her face. "Thanks for letting me take my break first today, I  _really_ needed to sort out those papers," Freya says, turning back to Ahiru with her usual small smile.

Ahiru only just manages to wipe the dreamy look off her face but still smiles sheepishly. "It's fine! I'll go get my lunch now."

Fakir looks up from his book. "Want me to get it?"

"No, it's fine, I'm going and coming back straight away!" The door snaps shut behind her.

Freya and Fakir stare at it before looking at each other for a few seconds, then returning to their tasks. Fakir peers at Freya as she works, wondering what exactly the willowy girl thinks of Ahiru. Despite the shorter girl's cheeriness with their current dynamic, Fakir sometimes catches her throwing wistful looks in Freya's direction, and after Rue's repeated speculations on the topic even he has started to become curious.  _Though I'd never ask, obviously._

Apparently, he doesn't have to.

"So, Fakir…" Freya breaks the silence, leaning against the counter with her arms akimbo and her hands resting on the edges. He notices that she is now wearing a bandanna. "This probably isn't my business, and you don't have to reply, but… are you two…?" She releases the counter and makes an odd pointing gesture with her hands, an awkward expression on her face.

Fakir blinks at her for a few seconds before the penny drops. "Oh, no. We're not like that at all. Ahiru's my friend."

"Oh. Really." Freya nods repeatedly, not looking entirely convinced.

Fakir observes her for a few seconds, a possible and convenient idea of where such an interest in his and Ahiru's relationship originates from forming in his mind. He taps the cover of his book.  _Well, just in case…_  "Do you know Ahiru's sister?"

Freya starts, looking bemused. "Yes… I've seen her. She's the one with the odd name, isn't she?"

"Yes, Tutu, that's her. Well, her sister and my cousin — Lohengrin, you might have seen him around too — are engaged."

"Oh!" Freya's expression clears as the realisation dawns on her. Fakir inwardly grins. "So that's how you know Ahiru?"

"Yes. She's like my cousin-in-law of sorts, if that makes sense."

"Yeah, yeah…" Freya nods again, more slowly this time, spraying the counter with disinfectant and wiping it down. She mutters, apparently to herself. "Tutu, I remember her, I always thought she was pretty… Ahiru looks a lot like her, too…"

Freya continues muttering and making odd humming noises, occasionally pausing to stare into space in thought, almost as if having a conversation with herself. Fakir lets his eyes fall to the book, deciding to allow one more comment.

"Ahiru's not seeing  _anyone_ , actually," he says nonchalantly, observing Freya's reaction from the corner of his eye. She seems to pause before continuing to fumble around with gardening tools. "Her sister's away and asked me to look out for her, that's all. And she's a good friend."

"Yes, she's… sweet."

Fakir only hums in response, snapping the book shut and pulling himself to his feet. Freya turns slightly, noting his intention to leave and waving over her shoulder. He notices her shaking out her hands before the door shuts behind him.

"You leaving already?" Ahiru asks breathlessly as she slides to a clumsy stop next to him, plastic bag in hand.

He nods. "Sorry, I remembered I have some errands to run."

"Oh, well," Ahiru pauses, looking into the shop. Freya bustles around inside as if looking for something to do. She hisses through her teeth, peering into the bag. "I got her something to eat, too. Is that weird? Do you think she'll mind?"

Fakir looks between Ahiru's nervous eyes and the knots of Freya's apron, wondering whether he should tell her what occured to him. "I'm sure you'll be fine." He smiles knowingly, choosing to keep what he knows to himself.  _It'd just make her clumsier to know._

Ahiru's eyebrows furrow. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing, idiot. Bye."

"I'm not-" she starts heatedley, before choosing to drop the issue. She knows by now that he doesn't mean it as an insult, and more as a way to change the subject in a less obvious manner. She watches him walk away, book clutched tightly in his right hand, left hand in his pocket, and ponders for a moment  _what in the world is on his mind?_  before stepping back into the shop. Freya greets her warmly with a wide smile.

Ahiru forgets Fakir's oddness entirely.


	3. Garden

Often, in the morning, Ahiru notices that Freya tends to disappear, leaving her to mind the shop and returning an hour or two later, sometimes with a change of clothes (which Ahiru notices — " _her clothes are all so pretty!"_  she whispers to Rue on one occasion when she is absolutely sure that Freya won't hear, and on another mentions it to Freya as casually as her nerves would let her). The only piece of useful advice Lilie has ever given her is " _now_ listen _, you need to know_ everything  _she does so that you know_ exactly  _what to say to her — for you, I recommend stalking, as you are so loud and clumsy that she would notice immediately and everything would be spectacularly ruined!"_. Although she most certainly would  _not_  stalk Freya, Ahiru agrees that knowing about someone's likes, dislikes, and hobbies is a surefire way to become closer with them.

"Not that I'm trying to  _seduce_  her or anything weird like that," she assures Hermia over lunch one Sunday, "That's what Lilie said, and I'm not. I just… I'd like to be friends with her is all."

Hermia nods, poking around her pasta, "Oh, I understand. Matters of love are complicated." Ahiru chokes. Hermia pats her back, nodding again. "I know how you feel. I've always been able to carry others' messages of love, but it took me  _forever_ to tell Lysander how I felt about him."

"I don't  _love_ Freya," Ahiru manages to cough out, thumping her chest with her fist. She clears her throat, rubbing her neck. "I mean, I like her, but  _love_ is a strong word-"

"Oh, but it's all the same thing, really." The taller girl pauses, her fork held upwards, observing Ahiru.

Ahiru shrinks into her seat. "People look at me like that a lot lately."

"Don't worry about it. What does Rue think of all this?"

"She thinks I should go for it if I really want to."

"Fully?" Ahiru gives Hermia a questioning look in response. Hermia sets her fork down, sighing and crossing one arm under her chest. With the other arm, she reaches over and pokes Ahiru's forehead. Although she sits back, her arm remains aloft, pointing at the freckled girl. "What I mean is, how far do you want to 'go for it'? Go for it and become friends, or go for it and throw all caution — and nerves — to the wind? Because I'd say," she picks up the fork again, stabbing at her pasta, "that you're already friends."

Later that evening, while Fakir bustles around in the kitchen, Ahiru lets her head fall back against the sofa cushions. She stares at the ceiling vacantly, pondering Hermia's words.  _Friends_. She wants to be Freya's friend. She disagrees with Hermia, that they are already friends, but now that she thinks about it they are quite close to being so.  _Friendship is great. Friends are the best. People always think Fakir is my boyfriend, but we're great as friends. I wouldn't want anything else with him. But Freya…_  She sighs longingly through her teeth.  _I don't think relationships are upgrades from friendships, per se, it just depends on who it's with._  She pauses. She thinks. She pauses again. She thinks. She huffs loudly and turns over.

"You okay over there?" Fakir calls. She can hear onions sizzling in a pan. She makes an odd whining sound in response, followed by a series of huffs, sighs, and frustrated noises. "I'll take that as a no," he replies, followed by the sounds of a salt shaker and the pulling out of what might be a chopping board.  _Yup, chopping board_ , she thinks glumly as the sound of quick dicing fills the open-plan room. "Would I be right if I guessed it's about Freya?" Ahiru turns over again, shrieking when she rolls right off the sofa. She rubs her head much as she had done three weeks ago on the floor of the flower shop. "I'll take that as a yes."

"I don't know what I'm doing!" she suddenly wails, bounding up and around into the kitchen area. Fakir turns, eyebrows raised. She slams a fist on the counter. "This is all so stupid! I'm sitting there thinking about something that doesn't even matter!" She stares at him, out of breath, freckled nose scrunched up, eyes furious with herself.

He blinks at her for a moment before setting the knife on the chopping board and turning down the heat of the stove slightly. "If it's bothering you, then it matters."

She sags into a short stool, thudding her head against a cupboard door. A drawer handle digs into her side slightly. "This is all stupid."

"Probably."

"Gee, thanks." She mutters, glaring up at him, though her anger has dissipated and she is playful now, aware that he is only teasing her. She sighs for what is definitely the umpteenth time that day. "I don't know what to do."

"Maybe," Fakir starts, throwing vegetables into the pan, "you don't have to do anything."

"But, Hermia-"

"-told you to go for it? Do that, if you want to. Or don't, if you prefer. It doesn't really  _matter_ as long as it's what  _you_ want to do. Listen, Ahiru," he looks down at her, leaning against the counter and glancing at the pan every so often, "you spend too much time and energy worrying about what others think you should do, or what others think in general. Even taking this job in the first place was a product of all of us convincing you to do it. Do you want to continue doing it?"

She nods vigorously. "I like it a lot."

"And do you want to be good friends with Freya?"

She nods again, hands clasped. "Definitely! She's so nice."

"And?"

"And what?

"What else do you want?"

"I… don't know."

"Then don't do anything until you do. There isn't a time limit. It's not now or never. God, you've been spending too much time around Lilie." He finally turns away, busying himself with cooking once more. Ahiru watches him, pondering his words, and Hermia's, and Rue's, and even Lilie's.  _He's right, I guess. There's no reason to get all stressed about it._

"That was some speech," she says quietly, shifting so that the drawer handle doesn't poke her. Her shoulders sag.

"Idiot," Fakir mutters back. Again, she knows he is only teasing her, and the change in tone tells her that everything, in its own way, is back to normal.  _I'm glad. Stress is exhausting._

* * *

"Ahiru, would you like to come out to the garden with me?"

Her hands stop in mid-air, holding the pot aloft high above her head. She stares at it for a few seconds before weakly managing to squeak, "Wha?"

Freya clears her throat loudly. Ahiru's arms drop and she whirls around, long orange braid smacking into the wall as she does. Freya stands across the room, looking… nervous?  _I guess she doesn't usually let people see her garden…_  The thought hits Ahiru right in the chest, and she bites her lip to contain her grin as Freya repeats, "Would you like to come out to the garden with me?"

"Yes!" Ahiru all but shrieks. She hops around and deposits the pot cleanly on the shelf before scurrying through the aisles of plants. Freya nods when she reaches her, then turns and leads her outside. Ahiru holds up a hand to block out the sun, squinting and blinking until she can make out what's in front of her. Once her vision clears, she lets out a strangled gasp.

Flowers. The entire garden is packed with flowers, leaving only a green square of grass in the middle to maneuver in. Daffodils, peonies, marigolds, lavender. Most flowers she barely knows the names of, though some come vaguely to mind from her time in the shop — but these flowers aren't the ones in the shop. In fact, she recognises the long, red ones on the left; they have just come into stock and are, if she remembers correctly, scarlet sage. The different colours and heights and patterns of petals pile over each other hazardously, and Ahiru can't help but wonder how Freya has managed to make them bloom so  _beautifully_  when grown so chaotically. The gardens she's seen — mostly public ones — are always neatly aligned and organised into sections, but somehow this feels much better. It feels like nature doing what nature does; making its own way as best it can, and  _powerfully_  so. It feels  _right_.

Ahiru sighs. "Freya… it's wonderful."

Freya purses her lips, a dusting of pink across her cheeks. "Thank you. This is my personal garden, actually, but all these flowers are in full bloom now so I'm afraid I need to pull them out of the ground. I leave some for fresh bouquets, but most go into flowerpots like the ones in the shop." Freya beckons Ahiru forwards towards some short, bright yellow flowers, pulling her down and setting some gardening tools and a flower pot next to them. "These are called coreopsis, or tickseed flowers. We're only going to pull out about three quarters of each flower, okay? Like so…" She sets about pouring soil into the pot and carefully digging up some of the flowers. Ahiru watches her hands attentively, taking in the practised motions and the dexterity with which Freya works.  _I'd end up dropping half of them or something._  "And that's it," Freya continues, jogging Ahiru out of her reverie. Ahiru nods, clearing her throat and glancing at Freya's face. Freya smiles at her somewhat weakly. "You're supposed to do it with gloves on but I like doing it with my bare hands. I have some gloves here if you'd like."

"Oh, that's ni- wait," Ahiru pauses to look up at her, blinking owlishly, "You want  _me_  to do it?"

Freya's eyebrows shoot up, a dusting of pink across her cheeks, "Yes. I never bring anyone out here, but I- well, I trust you, so here we are."

Ahiru only nods slowly, staring down at the hole in the ground where the tickseed flowers were before. Freya guides her hands through the motions, the careful digging and the pulling out — the mound almost tumbles out of Ahiru's small hands — and patting the soul over the roots once in the flowerpot. They then set about harvesting individually, and Ahiru's mind wanders as she works, wanders back to her conversations with Hermia and Fakir. Her eyes flit to Freya for a moment, the sun reflecting in her green eyes and shadows dancing across her face, small wisps of hair falling out of the low bun she habitually sports. She glances between her own work, and Freya's, and Freya's serene face, and breathes a content sigh.  _Sitting here, doing something we both enjoy together, comfortably… is exactly what I want. I could ask for nothing more._


	4. Heart

Ahiru giggles at the warning printed in minuscule letters at the bottom of the wedding invitation— " _if you don't come, you'll probably be cursed or something"_  — then turns it over to see the handwritten messages on the back — " _YOU wouldn't be cursed, dear sister, but since you're my maid of honour I'd be very upset"_  and " _if you could make sure Fakir doesn't sulk around at the party, that'd be swell, and you'd get extra cake xxx"_  from Tutu and Lohengrin respectively.

"Only they would write all over their invitations like that," Fakir says with a derisive snort.

"Well, it's on the back so it's fine. And it's cute," Ahiru says, giggling again. "What did they write on yours?"

"Tutu said to make sure you don't get overly stressed about the whole thing," he reads. Ahiru pouts. "And Lohen told me to behave myself. Such faith."

"They make an odd pair, but they're perfect for each other," Rue simpers, reading the back of her own invitation with her cheek in her palm, "Tutu told me to make sure to catch the bouquet…" she pauses, throwing Mytho a sidelong glance, before continuing, "...Lohengrin says not to look too pretty. Cheeky."

"I'm pretty sure they want  _our_  wedding to be the next one," Mytho says, grinning at Rue. Rue takes a haughty sip from her iced tea, her cheeks turning pink. "They just wrote ' _PROPOSE ALREADY DAMMIT'_  on mine. Do you think they wrote on everyone's?"

"No, probably just people close to them."

"I'm so flattered," Rue mutters sarcastically, biting her straw. Ahiru detects a note of bitterness in her voice. "I assume we should all have dates?"

"God, I hope not."

"Don't be such a downer, Fakir, it'll be fun!" Ahiru cheers, patting his knee.

"It's nice that they're getting married and all, but watch when Lohen tries to force me to  _dance_ or something."

"That's the funnest part!"

"So, you taking a date, Ahiru?" Mytho interrupts, eyebrows raised at their antics.

Ahiru blinks, and her hands drop into her lap. "I don't know… I'd sure like to."

Rue hums, ice clinking against glass as she swirls the straw around and around. "You could ask Freya."

Ahiru chokes on her ice cream, sputtering and thumping her chest with her fist and looking up at Rue through her eyelashes as she hunches over. "Wh-" She coughs again, clearing her throat and wiping the tears from her eyes. "I don't- Well… I dunno."

Rue raises an eyebrow. "Why the lack of enthusiasm? It'd be perfect."

"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to," Fakir says quietly, eyes concentrating on the iced coffee in front of him.

"Well obviously, but it'd be  _good-_ "

"Now, now, it's not that big a deal, there's plenty of time-" Mytho says, raising his hands between them. Rue makes a shushing gesture; Mytho's hands fall into his lap and he gives Ahiru an apologetic smile.

"I'm not pushing her into anything-"

"I never said that-"

"But you  _implied_ it-"

"Well, that's your opinion-"

"It is not, you sure as hell-"

"If I invited her, she'd know," Ahiru mumbles weakly. Rue and Fakir's head swivel towards her; Rue reaches for her glass again and takes a long sip.

Mytho leans forwards. "She'd know you like her?"

Ahiru slowly shakes her head, gripping the spoon more and more tightly until her knuckles are white. She gulps quietly. "She'd  _know_."

Rue frowns. "Know wha-  _Oh_." Her expression falls with the realisation and she sits back again in her seat, slowly nodding and staring at the table. "Of course. You'd be coming out to her."

Ahiru says nothing. Mytho nods solemnly. "That's true… You'd think we'd have realised."

"It's fine. You guys are all pretty open about it, and I am too usually, but I just…"

"You're shy about it."

"Yeah. It's making me a little anxious." She smiles sheepishly at them, rubbing her stomach. "It's making me feel queasy. It's like the first time all over again."

"You shouldn't feel like that at all, especially not with her," Fakir interjects, drumming his fingers on the table. In response to their questioning looks, he continues, "Freya's gay." Rue almost spits her drink across the table; Ahiru chokes again; Mytho's jaw drops. Fakir pulls a face. "You're kidding, right?"

"No!"

"Are you blind? Freya is the gayest woman I've ever seen. She's a  _distinguished lesbian_." He straightens, eyebrows furrowing as he surveys the group. "...None of you realised."

Rue stares upwards as if enlightened. "God, now that you say it I can't believe I didn't notice sooner."

Mytho nods mutely before adding, "It's so obvious, that woman can't be straight."

Ahiru says nothing, choosing instead to devour her ice cream at an alarming speed and only stopping when a sharp pain spreads along her teeth. She yelps and drops the spoon into the bowl, massaging her jaw. The knowledge that Fakir has just supplied her with makes circles in her mind.  _This…_

"-changes everything, then!" Rue exclaims gleefully, grinning at Ahiru. "You don't have to be nervous anymore!"

Ahiru grinds her teeth, grimacing. "Well, we don't  _know_  if she's-" she stops upon receiving three identical incredulous looks. "Okay, fine. But  _still_ -"

"Look, do you want to go with her or not?" Rue snaps impatiently.

"Rue!" Mytho hisses, giving her a look whilst poking around his smoothie. Her expression turns somewhat subdued, but she leaves the question up in the air.

For once, Ahiru goes with her instincts. "Yes."

"There we go, then," Rue sighs, before taking a long sip of iced tea. "And do you want to ask her?"

"Well- yes, but I just-"

"You're shy," Mytho repeats.

Ahiru bites her lip, thinking about the two weeks of gardening together with Freya in the mornings. She loves the time she spends there, true, and it is enough for her, and she doesn't want anything more, but on the other hand…  _It would be nice…_ She heaves a long sigh. "It's so hard."

"Don't worry too much about it," Rue says, patting her hand.

Fakir shakes his head. "You guys call yourselves bisexual and you  _didn't realise_ -"

" _WE KNOW_!"

* * *

Ahiru rubs her fingers up and down the counter, kneading her bottom lip with her teeth in thought. Her flower earrings catch the light as her head bobs slightly — they are her good luck charm now,  _and I'll definitely be needing them._ After a great deal of deliberation (most of which consisted of lying around in the living room or on her bed all afternoon the day before, munching on whatever was in the fridge) she had decided to ask Freya to go with her to the wedding. Fakir's revelation — or, more accurately, speculation — about Freya's sexuality calms Ahiru's nerves considerably.

She drums the fingers of both hands on the varnished wood, glancing at the clock.  _She's been gone an hour… she won't be long now, then._  She heaves a long sigh, then slips around the counter and slowly ambles around the shop, pausing to tweak the positions of a leaf or a stem, or to twist a pot around to get a better view of the flowers inside.

Freya steps in on Ahiru's third walk around, sending her a foot into the air. She smiles at her serenely while Ahiru nervously laughs, her cheeks turning pink. "Did anyone come in?"

Business talk.  _Easier to handle_. "No, no one yet. I was just going round and making sure everything was okay."

Freya only nods, giving the room a once over before setting about arranging the last few bouquets, which she had told Ahiru to leave for her to do — Freya always makes a point of designating half the work to each of them.

Ahiru gulps as silence falls once more between them.  _How am I supposed to start the conversation…?_

Apparently, she doesn't have to.

"Fakir mentioned a few weeks ago that your sister is getting married," Freya says, petals rustling faintly beneath her fingers.

"Oh! Yes," Ahiru replies quickly, ducking down a little to silently cheer.  _This is perfect! Lilie would say it's fate._  The thought flusters her, making her grin. She jumps up to continue. "We actually received the invitations on Saturday. I saw it after work."

"How wonderful! When is it?"

"Most of the organisation is already done so it's next Saturday."

"How lovely…" Freya lets the sentence hang. Ahiru waits — hopes — for further comment, and is rewarded. "Do tell the happy couple congratulations on my behalf. And if you need any flowers…"

"Oh, yes, Tutu said she wanted to get her bouquet from here especially. And, well…" Ahiru pauses, taking a deep breath, her stomach in knots.  _It's now or never, then!_  "...you could tell them yourself, if you like."

Freya freezes, turning to look at her. "What?"

"That is… would you like to come? To the wedding?" She fumbles with her fingers, glancing down and pursing her lips before looking up at Freya again through her eyelashes. "With me?"

The question hangs suspended between them, floating in wait for a response. Ahiru wishes for a lifeline — hopefully, a favourable response — or anything, really. She wishes for the moment to end. Her right hand reaches up to her earring, and she latches onto it with her thumb and index finger.  _For luck._

"Yes."

Ahiru blinks. "What?"

Freya slowly nods, deep red spreading across her pale cheeks. "Yes. I'll come to the wedding with you." She pauses, glancing down and pursing her lips just as Ahiru had done not a minute ago. "As your date."

Ahiru blinks at her owlishly, her mouth dropping open slightly. After a beat, air rushes into her lungs and she gasps, grinning from ear to ear, her face red, her eyes shining, one hand clenched into a fist at her chest and the other still hanging onto the earring. "O-Okay! Good! Um, thank you!"

Freya's embarrassment seems to evaporate a little, her usual tranquil disposition slowly constructing itself again. "You don't need to thank me. I'd love to come, though I need to buy a dress."

"Oh, me too actually." She laughs nervously again, extremely aware of the buzzing of her phone in her back pocket and of the friends awaiting the glorious news, though only one thought runs circles around her mind:  _Freya's going as my DATE!_


	5. Inspirational

"Do I look okay?"

" _Oh my god_ ," Fakir groans, rolling his eyes, "You've asked me about seven times. You look  _fine_."

"But are you just saying that or do I really?" Ahiru reiterates, smoothing the deep blue fabric of her somewhat poofy skirt. She runs her fingers along the braids on the side of her head and to the tight bun her unruly hair is twisted into then attempts to smooth the ever-rebellious cowlick, which seems to have chosen today to look particularly pointy.

Fakir pulls her hand away from her hair. "Leave it alone, you'll mess it up if you fiddle."

"I'm sorry, I'm nervous!" She heaves a long sigh. "I wonder what Freya's wearing." She glances down at her own dress. Knee length, deep blue, thin white lines around the edges and a matching white belt, a sweetheart neckline with halter straps, finished off with a small red pendant — to complement her sister's dragonfly necklace — and her lucky, periwinkle flower earrings.  _I'm glad I didn't let Lilie convince me to wear heels, I would probably twist my ankle or trip or something._  "I bet she'll look really pretty."

"Hm," Fakir assents, looking in the direction of the shop. "You said she's coming to pick you up?"

"Yeah, she insisted."

"I'll be off then."

"What?!"

"I'll go on ahead, leave you two to yourselves," he continues, already walking away and waving over his shoulder.

"No- wait, I-"

"She's already coming. I'll see you at the ceremony."

Ahiru suppresses a shriek, whirling around to see Freya walking towards her at a brisk pace. Her dress is slightly shorter than Ahiru's, a pretty duck-egg colour with large pink, purple, and yellow flowers printed on it. The neckline appears to plunge, but really the flowery print ends and a sheer black material forms a halter neck. She wears round, black earrings and her hair is also pulls up into a bun, though looser, stray wisps falling about her face.

She smiles upon catching Ahiru's eye, hoisting up what looks like a bunch of flowers held in her hands. "Hello! You look very pretty."

Ahiru muffles a strangled gasp. "Y-Y-You look wonderful, too!" Her face flushes.

Freya giggles. "Thank you, I do try. There's one last thing I have here to complete the outfit…" She pulls the flowers apart to reveal two thick flower crowns. She puts the first — an assortment of flowers which match the colours of her dress — on her head, positioning it carefully below her bun, before putting the other — made up of flowers in blues and whites — on Ahiru's, tilting it experimentally with an eyebrow slightly raised. She steps back, pleased with her handiwork. "There. Now we're matching." She purses her lips with a smile as her cheeks turn pink.

Ahiru stares at her reflection in a car window, fingering the petals with care. "How did you know what colours to use?"

"I asked Fakir what colour your dress is," she explains, smiling at Ahiru in the reflection.

"Ah." She turns away from the car, beaming. "Thank you! It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it." Freya steps up next to her, offering her an arm. "Shall we go?"

Ahiru giggles, looping her arm through Freya's.  _The height difference is perfect_. She tries to resist cuddling up to her side as they make their way to the ceremony, arm in arm, flower crowns blooming.

* * *

Quiet falls as the silver spoon clinks against the glass Fakir holds in his hand. Ahiru gestures excitedly to Freya — despite begging him all week, Fakir had not told her what his speech as best man would be — then turns, her chin in her palm.

Fakir throws a small grimace in her direction before starting. "Well, you all know that speeches aren't really my thing at all-" he stops abruptly when people begin to laugh, looking bemused, probably wondering what is so funny. "As I was saying," he continues, "this isn't really my thing at all, but since it's my cousin's wedding I don't mind making an exception."

"His  _favourite_ cousin," Lohengrin adds cheekily, turning to wink at Tutu, Ahiru, and Freya. They giggle.

"You're my  _only_  cousin, but if that helps you sleep at night..." Fakir adds, unfazed, an amused smirk playing on his features. Lohengrin sticks his tongue out at him as a few people laugh again. "Anyway, since this is their wedding and I have to get revenge in advance for when Lohen forces me to dance in about an hour-" Lohengrin nods vigorously, Tutu sniggers into her hand, "-I have to say that I'm glad he finally pulled himself together and proposed. Now, there's been some rumours circulating about the whole thing, and I've been told it falls to me to tell it." He shifts to lean on his other foot. "Lohen here, as cocky as he acts, spent about three weeks before doing it moaning and moping around me and Ahiru's apartment, going on and on and  _on_  about how much he loves Tutu, and Tutu this and Tutu that, and by the end of it I honestly couldn't fathom whether he was talking to me about his girlfriend or a ballet with how melodramatic he was being." He pauses to look down at Lohengrin as people laugh raucously, who scrunches up his face in an attempt at chagrin despite his huge grin. "So finally I tell him to grow a pair and propose and get out of our apartment, and the next day we're over at their house for lunch. So then, and Ahiru can confirm this, Lohengrin turns around to retrieve the ring — which he'd left behind the toaster for some reason — while Tutu drags a board out from God knows where, don't ask me, with ' _WILL YOU MARRY ME?'_  written on it in huge letters." The audience gasps and cheers. Tutu and Lohengrin turn identical shades of red. "And, well, you can imagine the look on his face, and on hers, because the little ring box was open and ready for the proposal, so she  _knew_  that they'd both proposed to each other at the same time. And while Ahiru and I died in the corner, I think we can all agree that if  _that_  isn't fate then it doesn't exist." The crowd cheers loudly, applauding and whooping and whistling while Tutu covers her face, a small grin on her face, and Lohengrin mock-bows with swirling hand gestures.

Ahiru joins the applause, detached from the proceedings.  _Fate… how lovely._  Her mind wanders to Freya, sitting next to her. She can't help but think about how lucky she is that the possibility exists that Freya might like her back — which, despite her agreeing to be her date, Ahiru doesn't let herself be fully convinced of.

Her thoughts fall back down to earth as the applause quietens with Fakir's shushing gestures. "To summarise, Lohen and Tutu are great individually and for each other, and the moral of this story is to go for it, because,  _clearly_ , that's the only way anything ever gets done." A more mellow applause follows this. Ahiru ponders Fakir's words, remembering his telling her that there was no need to rush into anything if she didn't want to.  _Isn't that the opposite? This sounds like something Hermia would say…_ She gives Freya a sidelong glance while she is distracted looking out at the guests and the hall.  _I guess 'going for it' is why I'm here with her now._  The thought warms her inside, makes her feel brave and accomplished.

She catches Rue's eye as she looks out across the room. She looks entertained, but Ahiru notices the odd gloom that's been about her for the past few days as she smiles and waves at her. She is jogged from her reverie by Freya's nudge of her knee. "It's your turn to make a speech now."

Ahiru blinks, and jumps up with her glass after a beat, eliciting a few snickers. She smiles sheepishly. "Well, my turn! I'm not as good at telling stories as Fakir, and the proposal is definitely the best one, but it's feels so good to finally be here when I remember how Tutu was the day of their first date…"


	6. Positive

"Hey, isn't that a friend of yours? That dark-haired girl in red?"

Ahiru twists around to peer over her shoulder at where Freya points. On the opposite side of the dance floor,  _not_  dancing, at one of the round tables, sits Rue, glass in hand and watching couples dance with a gloomy look on her face. Ahiru glances away and finds Mytho twirling around the floor with Tutu, her sister's long white dress floating along behind her, pink frills almost catching under other people's feet, the blue decorations at her lower back - which look like wings to match her necklace - giving her the appearance of a fairy princess. Ahiru's focus turns back to her friend. "Yeah, that's Rue. I dunno what's wrong with her, she's been kind of down the past few days. I was thinking of asking."

"Ask her to dance with you and you guys can talk about it," Freya replies instantly, pulling Ahiru away from the other dancers.

"And you? I don't want to leave you alone…"

"Oh, don't mind me. See…" She turns Ahiru towards where Fakir sits. Lohengrin is leaning against the wall next to him, and it is clear from the look on his face that he is pestering Fakir to dance. "I'll go dance with Fakir, it'll save him from Lohengrin."

"Just Lohen is fine, everyone calls him that."

"Oh, that  _is_  less of a mouthful." She giggles. Ahiru shares a small smile with her. "Anyhow, I'll go save Fakir like the hero I am and  _you_  go talk to Rue, alright?"

"Okay!" She nods vigorously, squeezing the taller girl's hand. "Thank you."

Freya smiles and nods, before sweeping away. Ahiru whirls around, all but stamping to where Rue has her chin in her palm, then takes the glass from between her fingers and pulls her to her feet. "Ahiru, wha-"

"Let's dance!" Ahiru says, tugging on her hands towards the dance floor.

Rue looks away. "I don't really-"

"Please," Ahiru pleads. She drops her cheery look, frowning. "I'm worried about you." Rue stares at her blankly, letting herself be dragged onto the floor. They join the other dancers and weave between them, and even in her sluggishness Rue's grace is ten times what Ahiru's could ever hope to be.  _She's always been a good dancer_. "So are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"It's Mytho." Her reply is instant, as if she had been waiting for someone to ask. "It's just… well, with all this marriage stuff happening, I just… I wish he'd propose." She whispers the last part, leaning forward close to Ahiru's ear.

Ahiru's muffles her strangled gasp. "That would be wonderful! Have you talked about it to him?"

"Yes, we've discussed it. It's something we're both open to, so I know that's not an issue. It's… for the whole week before getting the wedding invitation he seemed to be hinting at it, and then suddenly it all disappeared."

"Hinting how?"

"I can't really explain it… The way he talked about us, or things he said in general, I don't know…" Rue's lip trembles; she bites it. "I thought he would. I  _hoped_ he would."

"I know, Rue," she says quietly, squeezing her hand, "I could tell. I wondered when it would happen, but I just figured maybe you guys didn't want to yet. But don't worry about it!" She raises their joint hands. "He might do it soon, or he might decide to wait, but the most important thing is that he loves you, right?"

Rue slowly nods, staring at their joint hands. "I suppose you're right."

"Feel any better?"

Despite Rue's delayed reply, Ahiru knows it is an affirmative; she seems to freeze momentarily before taking the lead in their dance, twisting Ahiru around and pulling her into quicker steps. "A little. It helped to talk about it, though it's probably going to bother me some more anyway. Thank you."

"Great! That's what friends are-  _Hh!_ " Ahiru's words become a gurgling hiss and she is pulled away from Rue. She twists to see Rue twirling around Freya, who throws Ahiru a wink, before disappearing behind Raetsel and Hans. Ahiru turns towards her new partner, scowling up at him.

"Sorry about that," Fakir says, managing to look somewhat apologetic, "Lohen was starting to eye me again so Freya thought we should swap partners. He probably thought I was going to dance with one person the whole evening."

"Ah." They fall silent as Ahiru adjusts to her new partner. It certainly isn't the first time she dances with Fakir, but he is taller and his movements more sudden, and the abrupt change throws her off balance. "How was it with Freya?"

"Alright, actually. I wasn't looking forward to dancing at all but it was quite pleasant. She's nice." He pauses to lift her into the air as he spins, her hands on his shoulders. "Whose idea was it to have  _ballroom dancing_?"

"They thought it would be fun because of the whole thing about their names. You know, for the aesthetic. It's gonna be other stuff later but you know dances at weddings are mostly the paired kind anyway."

"Meh. Oh, we talked about you actually."

Ahiru tenses. "You did?"

"Of course we did, you're the only thing we know we have in common." They stop again as Freya and Rue spin by, chattering amongst swirling skirts and elegance. "She likes you. A lot."

"She does?" Her voice quivers, her hands tremble slightly.

"Yeah, she does. She talked about you a lot. I just sort of stood there and nodded." He smiles. "You should have more faith in yourself, idiot."

She only nods, an odd feeling of euphoria bubbling in her chest, close to her heart.  _She really likes me. Really!_

"Look, I know I was an absolute asshole when we first met-"

Ahiru snorts. "At Raetsel's wedding? I think that's an understatement — we were paired in a dance and you dragged me around the entire time and then let me drop after you lifted me!"

He looks away, the tips of his ears red. "You know I regret that."

"I do, but I reserve the right to tease."

"Touche. Anyway, I was all mean and put you down and all, especially after Raetsel and Lohen announced that they'd organised for us to move in together with Mytho and Rue, but…" he sighs, closing his eyes. "What I'm trying to say is that you should have more faith in yourself."

"You already said that."

"I'm  _explaining_ ," he grumbles. "All those things I said, none of them are true. You're great, really. Don't ever doubt it. She likes you."

Ahiru hums, pondering his words. She remembers the first few months of her acquaintance with Fakir — a mess would be the best way to describe them. It's a miracle that they ever managed to start getting along, let alone move out together. "I'm sure Tutu is very proud of us."

"Lohen too. They wouldn't stop bugging me to be nice to you every time I saw them, Tutu actually threatened me once. I pulled myself together after Raetsel told me off, though."

"I'm glad things have changed."

"Me too."

"You're alright when you're not all grumpy."

"Don't push it."

Ahiru giggles and shrugs, pulling away from him and leading him off the floor to a table. "Let's take a break, Lohen won't bother you if you're with me."

"I don't think he'd bother me anyway," Fakir adds, jerking his head in the direction of the dance floor. "He's focused on his wife." Ahiru peers around Hermia and Lysander's somewhat clumsy dancy, spotting Tutu and Lohengrin near the centre of the crowd. Tutu's head rests on his chest, and they appear to be muttering to each other.

"They're cute together…" Ahiru murmurs, letting her chin rest in her palm.

"I think Freya wants to dance with you again," Fakir mutters after leaning towards her slightly. Ahiru straightens, trying and failing to look for her discreetly then spotting her where Rue had been sitting earlier. Freya glances over right at that moment and catches her eye; she turns pink and makes an attempt at a casual sip from her glass. Ahiru looks away, silently screaming into the tablecloth. She looks up to see Fakir watching her with a raised eyebrow. "Go ask her. She  _is_ your date, after all."

Ahiru gulps, nodding slowly. "You're right. I just have to think positive and I won't be nervous."

"Exactly. You've been fine all evening."

"Yes."

"You're going to go and continue being fine."

"You'd make a great wingman, you know."

"Unlikely. Now go!"

Ahiru jumps to her feet, running on adrenaline and nerves, and walks in Freya's direction, her arms swinging awkwardly at her side. She catches sight of Rue and Mytho dancing in the crowd, a content look on Rue's face, and is spurred on.  _Talking to her worked!_ She sticks her hand out to Freya upon reaching her. "W-W-Would you like to dance? With me?"

Freya blinks then hops up, blurting, "Yes!" before they both walk towards the crowd, hand in hand.

* * *

They slowly rock from side to side, her arms around Freya's neck and her head resting against her much like she had seen Tutu do with Lohengrin earlier. It didn't take too long for the awkwardness to vanish once more, and then the music had started to slow and the crowd had thinned slightly, allowing for easier movement.

"Hey," Freya suddenly mutters, jolting Ahiru out of her reverie, "who's that little boy with Fakir? I know Uzura, but I don't think I've ever seen him before."

"Oh, you mean Freddie," Ahiru replies instantly, not needing to turn around and see. "Well, Frederic, but that's what everyone calls him. He's Raetsel's son - she's sort of like Fakir's sister but not really, but Fakir's still like his uncle. What are they doing?"

"He's spinning them around as if they're dancing."

"Cute."

They fall silent once again. Ahiru becomes aware of Freya's gradually quickening heartbeat.  _Is she nervous again?_  The thought comforts her slightly -  _not that I want her to nervous around me, but it's nice to know it's not just me._  She lets one arm slip off to give Freya's shoulder a comforting squeeze. Freya seems to shift, then pull back.

Ahiru blinks, staring up into her green eyes, her arms still around her neck while Freya's rest against her lower back. Freya's face seems to contort into a strange expression before she smiles weakly. Ahiru raises an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"Not at all," Freya replies a little too quickly. Her hands shift up to Ahiru's shoulders as she stares down at her, giving Ahiru the feeling of being under observation. "I just…" Her right hand releases Ahiru's shoulder and instead moves to touch her chin. Ahiru's breath catches in her throat, eyebrows going up so far she's sure they'll disappear into her hair. Her heartbeat starts to quicken-  _oh_. Freya's thumb dashes across Ahiru's chin. She shivers slightly. Despite the pleasant - and loud - music, a sort of hush descends around them. It feels like they stopped swaying months ago. Freya's eyes flit between Ahiru's blue ones and her lips. She leans down slightly. "Can I…?" Her gaze drops from Ahiru's eyes again.

Ahiru swallows as her mind goes oddly numb, though she remains distinctly aware of Freya's fingers gingerly holding her chin. She slowly nods. Freya seems to hesitate, before leaning down and pressing a quick, soft kiss to Ahiru's lips. Her flower crown seems to slip slightly before she sighs, eyes half shut as she pushes up onto her toes to plant another peck-

A cheer forces them apart. They both whirl around to see that a crowd has gathered where Tutu stands atop the steps, her back to the group, and prepares to throw her bouquet. Freya grabs Ahiru's hand and pulls her towards them, shouting a "Let's join in!" over her shoulder, her cheeks as pink as the flowers in her crown. Ahiru purses her lips, suddenly extremely aware of what just transpired between them. Though it certainly isn't her first kiss - she had shared that with Rue during a shy discussion about their confused sexualities, years ago - it definitely makes for a  _perfect_  second one.

She releases Freya's hand and takes a moment to adjust her crown as they prepare to catch the bouquet. Tutu swings a few times experimentally before releasing it, eliciting a shriek from the crowd and a sea of raised hands. It goes straight over Ahiru's head, and she turns to see it land snugly in Rue's arms.

Rue blinks down at it, holding it up as if disbelieving, an odd look passing over her face - most likely remembering the contents of her earlier conversation with Ahiru - before someone shrieks and points behind her. Ahiru peers around the frills of Rue's red dress, hearing Freya gasp as her own hands slap over her mouth.

"Rue… will you marry me?"

Though she can't see her face, Ahiru can imagine Rue's expression as she leaps towards Mytho and they both fall back onto the floor. She turns to see Tutu and Lohengrin still atop the steps, whooping and cheering - Lohengrin jumps into the air with a triumphant "YES!" and Tutu all but screams " _FINALLY!_ " - then spots Fakir off to one side with Uzura and Freddie both attempting to climb up his arms and get a better view of what the adults are screaming about. He raises an eyebrow at her, a smirk on his face; her face reddens and she sticks her tongue out at him just as Mytho pulls Rue to her feet and she turns to sprint straight into Ahiru's waiting arms.


	7. Quirk

Freya lets her cheek drop into her palm, slowly turning the pages of the gardening magazine before her. The combination of the grey autumn sky and having hardly seen Ahiru for the past week does nothing to help lighten her mood, and neither does the distinct lack of customers. She knows Ahiru isn't avoiding her - she is simply studying, as university students do - but she misses her. Terribly.

Her head jerks up when the bell above the door tinkles melodiously, then drops again when she sees it is, in fact,  _not_  Ahiru.  _Next best thing, I suppose._ "Hello, Fakir. Ahiru isn't here."

"I know. She's at the library." Freya bites down the huff that almost escapes her lips at his response.  _Don't be like that, Freya. Of course he knows, they live together!_  "I didn't come looking for her. I came to see you."

Freya stifles a cheeky grin. "I guessed as much; wouldn't think you're here to buy anyone flowers."

Fakir's eyes narrow slightly, but his expression conveys amusement. "Well, I can't disagree."

"So?" Freya interjects, flipping her long hair over her shoulder and straightening. Her hands rest on the ends of the counter, much like they had the day Ahiru walked (rolled) in to ask for a job application. "What can I do for you?"

Fakir pauses, assessing her in that way that he always does. Freya likes Fakir. He is honest, concise, and takes care of Ahiru when she can't take care of herself. And he can be funny when he tries. "Ahiru has exams coming up," he finally begins, drumming his fingers on the counter, "which is why you're not seeing her as much. She's studying."

 _Is he psychic, too?_  "I assumed she's studying, though I didn't know she has exams. Wish I could help her. I don't know the faintest thing about psychology, except some vague thing here or there."

"I know a bit, from helping her with it."

Freya blinks, leaning forwards to rest her elbows on the counter. "So I can help her?"

"No," he replies shortly. Seeing her disgruntled pout, he continues, "She studies better on her own, usually in the library."

"So I can't help her."

"I said you can't help her  _study_ ," he repeats, pausing to check the time on the clock above her head. "Ahiru has a certain quirk when she studies. Less a quirk, more a bad habit."

"What is it?"

"She doesn't eat. At all. All day."

" _What?_ " Freya all but shrieks. She clears her throat. "Why doesn't she take snacks with her?"

"She says she gets distracted with eating."

"But she has to  _eat_."

"You know how she is. She throws her health under the bus for the sake of something she considers more important."

Freya nods slowly. "So… I should bring her food?"

"Not now," he says, checking the time again. "She leaves the library at six in the evening."

"Are you telling me she doesn't eat anything for-"

"She takes a bunch of drinks in with her, to keep her going," he sighs, rolling his eyes. "She's an idiot. The one thing you can do for her is bring her food when she leaves the library. That's what I usually do, since she goes straight home to eat after studying all day, but she misses you, and I can tell you miss her."

"Six…" Freya mutters, frowning at the sign on the shop door listing closing times.

"We can take turns. You can do today, I'll do tomorrow, and so on. Rue might join the bandwagon too, actually."

"A group effort," Freya giggles, shaking her head. "That Ahiru is really something, but we must make sure she's fed. Okay! I'll go today, then."

"Good," Fakir says shortly. He stares at the counter, drumming his fingers on it, before smiling at her pleasantly and turning to leave. "I'll see you 'round, then."

"Definitely. And, Fakir!" He turns in the doorway, his eyes questioning. She waves. "Thanks for the tip."

He nods. "Anytime."

As soon as the door snaps shut, Freya bounds around the counter and rushes to the back of the shop and up the stairs, straight into the kitchen.

* * *

Ahiru trudges out through the imposing library doors, her heavy bag feeling heavier than usual.  _It's the weight of responsibility… and hunger. I wonder what Fakir's made for dinner today._  She stops short when a hand pulls on her coat slightly. Her bag drops right off her shoulder when she sees who it is. "Freya!"

Her girlfriend smiles, bending forwards as Ahiru raises herself to press a short, sweet kiss to her lips. Ahiru bends down to reach for her fallen bag. "What are doing here?"

"A little birdie told me that you don't eat when you study. Like, at all." She gives Ahiru a pointed look, then shifts the large picnic basket hanging from the crook of her elbow. "So here I am."

"Fakir and 'little birdie' don't really match," Ahiru says, giggling at the thought.

"A little! He'd be a stern little bird, but he'd perch on your shoulder all day to keep you company."

"Maybe he'd even sit on my head."

Freya laughs out loud, then stifles her laughter with her gloved hand. "Anyway, we're going to have a picnic."

" _Now?_ " Ahiru asks incredulously, looking up at the darkening sky.

"There's never a bad time for a pretty picnic." Freya offers Ahiru her left arm, the one not holding the basket. Ahiru bobs a curtsy, giggling, and slips her arm through Freya's before they begin their trot down the busy streets.

There is bustle; six o'clock marks the second set of people leaving work for home, so the girls have to wind their way between briefcases and clicking heels. Ahiru lets Freya lead her, not having the slightest clue as to where she is being led, but mostly wondering how they will ever manage to avoid freezing out in the autumn night.  _Well, it's only six o'clock_. Freya leads her into the town park, following the concrete path. It is fairly empty, and the orange light of the lamp posts casts a queer glow over the bushes and plants scattered about. They stop at a spot off to the side, somewhat close to the path but not enough that they are seen by every single person that might walk by. Freya pulls a picnic blanket out of the basket and spreads it out just under one of the few lamp posts that aren't next to the concrete, dropping down and patting the spot next to her for Ahiru to follow suit.

As she accommodates herself, leaning against the dark metal of the lamp post, Freya lifts items from the basket. "I made sandwiches, and brought snacks, sweet and savoury."

"Thank you. You didn't have to, you know."

"I know, but I wanted to see you. Let's call it a date."

"A picnic date!" Ahiru beams, clapping her hands. "At night! It's very…"

"Aesthetic? Here, this one's yours, it has smoked salmon in it."

"Ooh, delicious!" Freya watches Ahiru bite down hungrily, giggling, before biting into her own vegetarian sandwich. Ahiru reaches for a bag of nuts as she eats. "I'm starving!"

"You should really eat during the day," Freya says, fixing Ahiru with a pointed look. "Go out for a lunch break. You'll study better with food in your stomach."

"Yeah, but then it's really hard to concentrate again after. I just want to go out again and eat!"

"Dearie me, what am I going to do with you?" Freya pats Ahiru's head, then taps her nose before letting her hand drop onto the blanket.

"Well… deal, I hope."

Freya's laugh echoes into the night.

* * *

A while afterwards, they sit bundled in a large, thick, fluffy blanket with mugs of hot chocolate in their gloved hands, leaning against each other and the friendly lamp post. Freya listens to the story Ahiru has created after pointing out how warm its light looks. "So this lamp post is our friend now, and we'll call her… Lamp!"

"Creative."

Ahiru sticks her tongue out in response, letting her head fall back to gaze up at the light source. "Well, Lamp, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Freya twists around, patting the metal post. "Nice to meet you, Lamp. Let's stay good friends."

They giggle again, before falling into silence. The park is serene, with only the occasional evening runner passing by. Ahiru sets her mug down on the ground, careful that it doesn't tip over. "This was really nice, Freya. Let's do it again soon."

"Sure. We can sit here with Lamp."

"Yeah! But it's really cold and dark now…" She lets the sentence hang, as if afraid to offend her.

Freya pats her head again. "I was just about to say so. Shall we go back home?"

"Okay!" Ahiru wriggles out of the blanket, cowlick bobbing as she sets about tidying up the small mess they've made. "My place or yours?"

"Hm… yours. Let us go home and annoy Fakir."

"Yes! It is our fate, as hopeless lesbians." They laugh again, loudly. "And I need to thank him for giving me this idea."

"He always says he isn't interested in romance, but he's always helping me out with  _mine_!" Ahiru says, sounding both amused and exasperated at once.

"So this is a  _romance_ ," Freya repeats, grinning mischievously. "What a wonderful way to put it."

They stand together, linking arms as Freya adjusts the basket in the crook of her elbow and Ahiru re-positions the bag on her back. Then they turn to each other, nod, smile, and begin the stroll back home, the moon following their steps as they go.


End file.
